San Jose: National Hispanic University students seek lifeline

SAN JOSE -- Ever since National Hispanic University announced it will shut its doors next year, students like San Jose's Ramon Ramirez have had one word to describe the fallout: "panic."

But on a sun-splashed Saturday, while many Bay Area residents may have headed to the beach or out for a hike, Ramirez was among a group of NHU enrollees who spent a few hours inside a nondescript office building looking for a way out of their predicament.

National University, California's second largest nonprofit university, hosted a "transfer day," targeting NHU students in search of a solution as they face the extinction of their own platform for higher education. The olive branch includes a guarantee that students would pay no more tuition than they do at NHU, minus a 15 percent discount.

From right, National University Associate Regional Dean Gwendolyn Smith, speaks to National Hispanic University students Ramon Ramirez and David Gomez during a tour at National University in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, August 16, 2014. Gomez, from San Jose, is studying for his credential in special education while Ramirez, also from San Jose, is working on a B.S. in business management. (LiPo Ching/Bay Area News Group)
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LiPo Ching
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For NHU students scrambling for the right fit to finish college degrees and master's programs, it was seen as a lifeline. Ramirez's first question to National University educators on Saturday, however, was: "How long are you going to be open?"

"It was like a broken promise," Ramirez said of NHU's planned closing. "I'm leaning toward here now. They made me feel welcome."

Thrown off track by NHU's financial troubles, David Gomez -- who already has his bachelor's degree from NHU -- is mulling National University for his master's.

"I did hit the panic button," he said of the news earlier this year. "I'm trying to figure out what my next step is."

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NHU leaders announced in March that they would close the school's East Side campus in 2015, when it would cease to exist as a college accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Viewed as a potential magnet for Latino education, the school struggled to raise money and boost enrollment, forcing the phaseout.

Brandon Jouganatos, National University's associate vice president, said his school is one of three identified as having the type of curriculum and system that would best accommodate NHU transfers (San Jose State and Pacific Oaks College are the other two).

From left, National Hispanic University students Gabriela Garcia and Sophia Hernandez check out the break room while on a tour given by National University Admissions Counselor Denise Cordoza at National University in San Jose, Calif., on Saturday, August 16, 2014. (LiPo Ching/Bay Area News Group)
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LiPo Ching
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Inside the school's Tisch Avenue campus on Saturday, educators and administrators made their pitch to the now-nomadic NHU students. "We're here for you," Rafael Kimo Sanchez, a part-time faculty member in the education department, told the students in a quick primer mostly in Spanish.

Former NHU student Mario Prado, who is working as a substitute teacher while getting his master's at National University, also offered his endorsement, describing the benefits of the school's online offerings.

The NHU students, who acknowledge living with uncertainty in recent months, found the "transfer day" a reason for optimism.

Gabriela Garcia, a junior in business administration at NHU, said she is probably going to transfer to National University. And after spending the morning at National, Ramirez seemed to seal the deal with a text to his 13-year-old daughter.

"I told her, 'This is going to be my school,' " he said.

Howard Mintz covers legal affairs. Contact him at 408-286-0236 or follow him at Twitter.com/hmintz.